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Mom recalls last talk with slain UPLB student

By Dharel Placido, ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 11/22/2012 3:10 PM | Updated as of 11/22/2012 3:15 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Her last conversation with her slain daughter and only child, involving a house key, may not qualify as the sweetest, but it is one she will always remember for the rest of her life.

Candida Reyes, mother of slain UP Los Baños agriculture student Maria Victoria, said she was not able to talk to her daughter after she was stabbed inside their home in Biñan, Laguna.

Maria Victoria, fondly called as Vicky by her relatives and friends, was stabbed by a burglar, identified as Benigno Nayle Jr., inside their house last Tuesday.

Her father, Sixto, discovered her while she was struggling for her life at around noon.

Candida said her last conversation with Vicky happened not so long before the stabbing incident. The conversation involved her husband's copy of their house key, which she accidentally brought with her.

Candida estimated that her brother arrived at the house at around 11 a.m. to bring the key.

A neighbor then claimed seeing Reyes still talking to someone at around 11:30 a.m., leading her to conclude that the stabbing occurred not so long before Vicky was discovered by Sixto bathing in her own blood.

Candida said they are still puzzled as to how the suspect was able to enter their house, located in Barangay San Vicente. No sign of forced entry was seen by the police at the crime scene.

She added that she does not know the still at-large Nayle, who was reportedly a resident of the barangay as well.

She also noted that it was not the first time that their house was burglarized. In the first incident, Candida and Vicky lost their laptops to the burglar.

In the second burglary, police discovered that Vicky's laptop, cellphone, jewelry and some cash were taken.

Vicky eyed master's

Candida said Vicky had always included them in her dreams, making the loss even more unbearable for her and her husband.

She said Vicky, an Agriculture student planning to take up a master's degree in landscape architecture at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, wanted to build her a farm where she could spend time after retiring.

With Vicky gone, Candida said she will still strive to fulfill her daughter's dream.

Candida shared that Vicky was also a good painter and had recently accepted a position in UPLB's Painters' Club.